Guide Dogs

An organization in greater Hartford trains dogs to serve as guides for

blind people.  Walking down Hartford's Pratt Street, I saw one trainer adopt a

blocking stance while a second trainer worked the dog to go around the blocker.

You didn't think I could find a guide dog and trainers in Russia to pair with this photo, 
did you?  I couldn't.  How about some photos from Mandrogi,
a center for traditional crafts, on the way to St. Petersburg?

Pediments

One distinctive feature of classical architecture is a pediment, usually a gable with a wide triangle, often with decoration within, with a horizontal element below, and usually columns supporting it.

Above is the ornate pediment of the New Britain (Connecticut) public library.

Below is the similarly decorative pediment of Moscow's Bolshoi Theatre.

(It is not a competition.)

Pratt Street

Pratt Street in downtown Hartford is a short street with a mix of new and old buildings,

some in good shape and some challenged.  I like this old building and the art nouveau street lamps.

My travels are scheduled to last five more days.  Posts are scheduled for every

day while I am away, and I have been updating them to include photos from Russia.

While we are on the subject of lovely old buildings, 

here is a handsome wooden building with wonderful ornamentation, in Uglich.

Caitlyn and The Apprentice

Caitlyn is from Washington, D.C.  She was visiting family and looking at paintings in

Hartford's Wadsworth Atheneum.  With her shock of bright red hair and gray short-sleeved shirt,

 I had to pose her near William Merritt Chase's 1875 painting, The Apprentice.

And, so long as we are looking at artwork, here are people looking at icons in the

Church of Elijah the Prophet, a Russian Orthodox church built in 1647 - 1650

in Yaroslavl by two wealthy fur-trading brothers.

Yaroslavl is overflowing with churches.  Perhaps the most interesting exterior is that of

John the Baptist Church, built in 1671 - 1687, a 15-onion dome church that is 

featured on the back of a 1,000 ruble banknote.

Charley

Charley stands at one of Hartford's busiest intersections and plays the harmonica. 

I will be traveling for one more week.  Internet might be spotty.

But, posts are scheduled while I am away.  Sorry if I can't visit your blogs.

On the subjects of musicians and travel, here is an entertainer
playing the saw with the Moscow Orchestra.

XL Center Murals

This is one of the entrances to the XL Center, where pro hockey, UConn basketball, the circus, Disney shows and other events are held.  But, it is aging.  $35 million in renovations will start soon.

These huge murals from the 1960s are by Harlem Renaissance artist Romare Bearden.
They don't fit with the renovations, so they have to go.
An appraisal came back recently, valuing them at $4.2 million, shocking everyone.
They are being moved to the Hartford Public Library.

Linked to Monday Murals.

While we are on the subject of huge murals, here is The Princess of the Dream, 
a room-size 1896 mural by M. A. Vrubel in Moscow's Tretyakov Gallery.

Bushnell Plaza

Bushnell Plaza was designed by I. M. Pei in the 1960s.  

There is a high-rise tower and a curved low-rise housing unit.  Hartford's Bushnell Park is to the west.  Main Street, Travelers and the Wadsworth Atheneum are to the east.  

The plaza has become a wasteland. 

The geometry is strong, but it sure would be good to see a swarm of humans here sometime.

Meanwhile, the censors and I extend greetings from St. Basil's in Red Square.